The influence of the structures and compounds of DLC coatings on the barrier properties of PET bottles

To reduce the oxygen transmission rate through a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle (an organic plastic) diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings on the inner surface of the PET bottle were deposited by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (RF-PECVD) technology with C₂H₂ as the source of carbon and Ar as the diluted gas. As the barrier layer to humidity and gas permeation, this paper analyses the DLC film structure, composition, morphology and barrier properties by Fourier transform infrared, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and oxygen transmission rate in detail. From the spectrum, it is found that the DLC film mainly consists of sp³ bonds. The barrier property of the films is significantly relevant to the sp³ bond concentration in the coating, the film thickness and morphology. Additionally, it is found that DLC film deposited in an inductively coupled plasma enhanced capacitively coupled plasma source shows a compact, homogeneous and crack-free surface, which is beneficial for a good gas barrier property in PET bottles.